Toy and the like



July 14, 1936.

- s. s. SCHMIDT TOY AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 9, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l A I INVENTOR.

/mzzeZ/Jifimiz'di ATTORNEY.

July M, 1936. s. s. SCHMIDT TOY AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 9; 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 AM ATTORNEY.

Patented July 14, 1936 PATENT OFFICE TOY AND THE LIKE Samuel .S. Schmidt, Spring Garden Township,

York County, Pa.,'assignor to Grey Iron Casting Company, Mount Joy, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 9, 1935, Serial No. 936

10 Claims.

The present invention relates to toy structures,

and. more particularly to foldable or collapsible structure, such as tents and tepees made of cardboard or other sheet material, although certain of its features may be utilized in other types of structures.

Children are quite fond of tents, houses, and

other types of toy constructions. The present invention pertains to constructions of this character adapted to be collapsed for shipping and storage and readily, set up again by a child or by anyone else. Foldable objects which have been made heretofore have not been of a type adapted for use by children. Such toys and structures should be relatively inexpensive and easy to manufacture. Also, it is very tiresome to grown-ups to be continually asked to assemble or disassemble toys or to erect them. The present construction is peculiarly adapted for childrens use because it is sturdy and, at the same time,

operates sufficiently easily .to be collapsed and set up by a very small child, without help. In

addition, the structure may be readily made from two pieces of cardboard attached to each other at two or more points, thereby reducing the cost of material and the manufacturing operations .to a minimum. The preferred embodiment of 'the inventio rl'is particularly useful in connection with cowboy and Indiansets, toy soldiers, Boy

30 Scout sets and the like.

' An object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive tent, tepee or other toy construction. {Another object of the invention is to provide a tentor other collapsible construction which can bereadily assembled from inexpensive parts.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a (tent or other. construction which may be readily collapsed .afterfassembly to facilitate shipping and storing. l Another object of the invention is to provide a collapsible cardboard construction which may be readily set up by a child without the. assistance of older persons. [,A'fifithet 'object'of the invention is to provide a collapsible tent or itepee construction from a minimum number'of parts readily assembled.

Other and further objects of the invention. will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will beindicated ntne appended claims, and various advantagesnot referred to hereinwill occur tov one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practicea .A'. preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a tepee or tent illustrating the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view illustrating 5 the tepee or tent partially collapsed in full lines and completely collapsed in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the tent or tepee illustrating the invention;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the in- 10 vention applied to another form of tent;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view illustrating the tent shown in Fig. 4, partially collapsed; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional View along the line 6-6 of Fig. 4, illustrating the invention. 15

Referring again to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 3 thereof, there is shown a tepee having a bottom I and a top or tent portion 2. The bottom may be round, as .shown in Fig. 3, or polygonal to support the bottom of the 20 tent. The top portion may be made from a triangular sheet which is scored to form a series of triangular side portions 4. The triangular sheet is folded and the side edges are glued or stapled together, preferably at 5, so that a sub- 5 stantially conical or pyramidal tent portion is formed, simulating an Indian tent or tepee. The lower ends of the side portions 4 are slitted at 6 and scored at I to provide tabs for attaching the tent portion 2 to the bottom or base I. 30

A construction of this type may be readily made from two pieces of cardboard suitably scored and cut by automatic machinery. Since a child desires to have groups of structures of this sort, it is desirable for them to be stored 5 in as small a space as possible. Likewise, it is difficult and much more expensive to ship a construction of this sort or to store it in stores unless it can be collapsed. Furthermore, where a toy is to be used by a child, its operation should 40 be sufiiciently simple for a child to operate, otherwise the child is consistently troubling its parentsor other grown-ups to assist it. One of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide a construction of this character which 45 may be folded for the purposes noted above and which is sufficiently simple to fold so that any child can do it.

To achieve this object, the top part of the tent is preferably secured to the bottom at two points, 50 8 and 9, and the bottom is scored, creased or weakened at H] so that it folds along its middle. To facilitate folding, the points 8 and 9 are at opposite sides of the tent and substantially perpendicular with respect to the crease ID. The 55 sides.

than in a case such as the one described herein- 1 after, where the back of the tent is upright or substantially perpendicular. In either case, the cutaway portion may terminate substantially adjacent the inner side of the bottom of the tent part.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 2 of the drawings, it will be noted that the tent or tepee may be folded into collapsed position merely by pushing upwardly on the bottom I. Such pressure on the bottom causes it to fold upwardly and inwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, with one end of the apex of the folded bottom projecting upwardly into the opening or door II of the tent and the other end of the apex extending upwardly on the inside of the tent by reason of the cutaway portion I2. Without the cutaway portion I2, it would not be possible for the bottom to be folded upwardly into the tent part. Furthermore, the tent may be readily set up again by a child or anyone else merely by pushing downwardly on the apex of the folded bottom, which is exposed through the opening II in the tent proper. It can also be set up by inserting a finger through the cutaway portion I2 at the other end of the apex and pulling the apex of the bottom downwardly into its flat form. When the bottom is in its fiat position, the tent is held in set up position, since the cutaway portion does not extend sufiiciently inwardly of the sides of the tent to permit the bottom to fold upwardly of its own accord. In addition, the weight of the top part tends to hold the bottom in its fiat position. It will be understood that the bottom I may be scored to fold downwardly but better results are obtained by folding it upwardly as illustrated in the preferred embodiment.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, substantially the same principle is applied to the type of tent known as a soldier tent or Boy Scout tent. Such a tent is usually substantially square at the bottom and has substantially perpendicular triangular ends or flaps and sloped square Referring more particularly to the drawings, the construction comprises a base or bottom I5 formed from a single sheet of cardboard creased or weakened at I6 to fold along its middle. If desired, the weakened portion I6 of the bottom may be reinforced by a strip of tape or other material I 3 as shown. The tent or top part is likewise preferably formed from a single piece of cardboard material with the sides I I having tabs or flaps I8 stapled at one or more points I9 to the bottom. The sides I 'I slope to form an apex II. The rear end of the tent is substantially triangular and substantially perpendicular to the bottom. The front end may be formed with suit- 'able flaps 2I for access to the tent.

As described in connection with the Indian tent or tepee, a suitable cutaway portion 23 is provided in the bottom I5 adjacent one end of the crease or folding line I6 of the bottom. The

-innermost part of the cutaway portion is subbling its parents or others. The resulting strucrear end of the tent has a vertical crease through its middle so that it can fold outwardly and the sides 24 of the V-shaped cutaway portion 23 are suitably curved or shaped to force the middle of the rear end outwardly into its folded position as the middle of the bottom is raised upwardly. The apex of the bottom at the front or" the tent, passes through the flaps as it is folded upwardly so that the entire tent may be folded together, as shown more particularly in Fig. 5.

The soldier or Boy Scout tent operates on the same principle as the tepee tent and illustrates the invention applied to a slightly different construction. It will be understood that in describ ing the invention applied to two structures, it is not intended to exemplify all the embodiments of the invention. The term tent or tepee, as used herein, applies to any type of construction wherein simple and effective means for collapsing and setting up are desired.

In manufacture, the top part of the tent can be made from a single piece of cardboard and attached to the bottom part by a simple stapling operation, two or more staples being used. Automatic machinery for cutting and scoring cardboard in any desired configurations are well known and may be utilized to reduce the cost of manufacture to a minimum. The tent may be collapsed merely by holding the top portion in one hand and pressing upwardly on the bottom portion. The upward pressure on the bottom, as well as the grip on the top, tends to fold the tent along diagonal lines. The recess or door in the front end of the top part permits the middle part of the bottom to fold upwardly without obstruction. The recess or cutaway portion in the bottom adjacent the other end of the folded or creased portion I0 permits the bottom to be folded upwardly without obstruction from the side of the tent. Such a folding operation is so simple that children can perform the operation without help from grown-ups. The tent may be set up with equal ease, since it is merely necessary to grasp the upper end of the tent and press the bottom downwardly on a flat surface. The flat surface forces the sides of the tent outwardly, which, in turn, pulls the middle or apex portion of the bottom down into its fiat position.

This method of setting the tent up can be done without injury to it but, if desired, the tent may be more carefully set up by pressing downwardly on the apex of the folded bottom at the exposed part extending through the recess or door II. The same result may also be obtained by inserting the finger through the cutaway portion I2 and pulling the apex or folded part of the bottom downwardly into its flat position. It is believed that the construction and operation of the structure shown in Figs. 4 to 6'wil1 be clear from the above description.

It will be seen that the present invention provides an attractive toy for children, which may be readily manufactured from a minimum number of parts and which may be readily assembled. The tents or other structures may be" shipped and stored in collapsed condition and may be readily set up. The setting up and collapsing operations are sufficiently simple so that a very small child may perform them without trouture is rugged and fully capable of withstanding the rough usage to which it may be subjected.

As various changes may be made in the form,

construction and arrangement of the parts hereits in without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a toy tent constructed of cardboard or the like, the combination of a foldable bottom and a foldable tent part attached to said bottom, said bottom having a cutaway portion adjacent a portion of the tent part extending over the line along which the bottom folds so that the middle portion of the bottom may fold upwardly into the tent part to collapse the structure.

2. In a tent or the like constructed of cardboard or the like, the combination of a foldable bottom, and a foldable tent part, said bottom having a cutaway portion adjacent a portion of the tent part at one end of the line along which the bottom folds, said tent part having a door or recess adjacent the other end of said line on which the bottom folds so that the middle portion of the bottom may fold upwardly into the tent part to collapse the structure.

3. In a foldable toy constructed of cardboard or the like, the combination of a bottom creased or weakened to fold substantially along the middle thereof, and a foldable top part attached to said bottom, said bottom having acutaway terminating inwardly of the portion of the top extending thereover so that the bottom may be folded upwardly into the top part to collapse the structure.

4. In a toy constructed of cardboard or the like, the combination of a bottom creased or weakened to fold substantially along the middle thereof, and a top part attached to said bottom part at two or more points, the crease or weakened portion in the bottom part being substantially perpendicular to a line connecting certain of said attaching points, said bottom having a cutaway portion adjacent one end of said crease to permit the bottom to be folded upwardly into the top part.

5. In a collapsible toy constructed of cardboard or the like, the combination of a bottom creased to fold substantially along its middle, and a foldable top part .attached to said bottom at two or more points, the crease in said bottom being substantially perpendicular to a line joining certain of said attaching points, said bottom having a cutaway portion adjacent one end of said crease and said top part having an opening adjacent the other end of said creased part to permit said bottom to be folded upwardly into said top part.

6. In .a collapsible toy constructed of cardboard or the like, the combination of a substantially rectangular bottom creased or weakened to fold along its middle, and a foldable top part attached substantially at the, edges of the foldable bottom portions, said bottom having a cutaway portion at one end of the creased or weakened portion and said top portion having an opening at the other end of the crease so that the bottom may be folded upwardly into the top part to collapse the structure.

7. In a toy structure made of cardboard or the like, the combination of a bottom portion creased to fold along its middle, and a foldable top portion substantially polygonal in shape adjacent the bottom, said bottom portion having a cutaway portion adjacent one end of said creased portion to facilitate collapsing the structure.

8. In a toy structure made of cardboard or the like, the combination of a bottom portion creased to fold along its middle, and a foldable top portion substantially polygonal in shape adjacent the bottom, said bottom portion having a cutaway portion adjacent one end of said creased portion to facilitate collapsing the structure, said top part having a cutaway portion adjacent the other end of said crease in the bottom to facilitate collapsing the structure.

9. In a toy tent made of cardboard or the like, the combination of a bottom having an articulate portion along its middle to facilitate folding said bottom, and a foldable top portion attached to said bottom being substantially polygonal in shape adjacent its bottom, said bottom having a recess adjacent one end of said articulated portion to facilitate collapsing the structure.

10. In a toy tent resembling a tepee made of cardboard or the like, the combination of a substantially circular bottom portion having a diametrical extending articulated portion, a tent top having a series of substantially triangular foldably connected wall portions, said bottom having a portion adjacent to one end of said articulated portion extending under the side wall of said tent top to permit said bottom to be folded upwardly into said tent top.

SAMUEL S. SCHMIDT. 

